The Government and Political System in Canada

The federal or national government of Canada is unique in that borrows from both the British and American models of government to create a somewhat unusual, albeit very effective system. Like most of the governments installed in developed countries around the world, the Canadian government uses a system of checks and balances between the various branches of government, which ensures that no single branch can use or abuse its powers to the detriment of the populace.

Creating the government of Canada was the Canadian Constitution of 1867—an act of the British parliament. However, in 1982, the constitution was amended to give Canada political independence from Great Britain, although the monarch still retains some executive powers. In addition, the 1982 amendment provided an outline of the political rights and freedoms reserved for Canadian citizens, an outline similar to the Bill of Rights that begins the Constitution of the United States.

At the national level, Canada has three branches of government: the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch, each with specific roles and duties.

Executive Branch of Canadian Government

The Monarchy and Governor-General

The executive branch of the Canadian government is officially headed up by the sitting king or queen of England, acting as the head of state and entrusted with sweeping powers over the legislative and judicial branches. The British monarch’s position, however, has historically been more honorary rather than enforced, though should the monarch—currently Queen Elizabeth II—decide, she could assert considerable power over Canada. Although the executive branch typically bows to the will of parliament and the constitution, it does so by tradition rather than any specific act of law.

Due to the geographic distance between Canada and Great Britain, the Queen appoints a governor-general in Canada to oversee the executive powers reserved for the monarch. Currently the governor-general of Canada is David Lloyd Johnston.

The Prime Minister

The governor-general appoints the prime minister in Canada, currently Steven Harper, who serves as the head of the Canadian federal government and wields most of the executive power in the country. The prime minister is almost always chosen from whichever party holds a majority in the House of Commons—one of two legislative bodies in Canada—however if no party holds a majority, the prime minister is typically appointed from the party with the most members in that house. Although the prime minister cannot be removed from office, the House of Commons can pass an “act of no confidence” in the government, which will generally result in the resignation of the prime minister and his/her cabinet.

The duties of the prime minister of Canada are many, including presiding over Cabinet meetings, meeting with official foreign delegations and answering questions in the House of Commons. Since the Prime Minister is usually a member of the Parliament, he/she also spends time helping the constituents who put him/her in office.

The Prime Minister of Canada has the power to organize the government. Subject to what is often routine Parliamentary approval, the Prime Minister has the ability to create new departments and agencies, transform or abolish old ones, and privatize or nationalize industries and corporations. He/she additionally has the authority to assign specific mandates and priorities to individual government departments and agencies, with or without the approval of the responsible Cabinet Minister.

In addition to appointing the various Cabinet Leaders or Ministers, the Prime Minister also has the power to select or influence the leaders of key offices in the public service. This includes the appointment of Senators, Supreme Court judges, deputy ministers, and heads of government agencies, boards, and corporations. The ability to exercise such broad power helps the Prime Minister impose his/her ideological philosophy on much of the government. In other words, a Prime Minister who believes in a particular vision of how government should function can use the powers of the Prime Minister’s Office to appoint persons of like-political philosophy to key government positions.

Finally, it is customary in Canada for the Prime Minister to exercise many of the powers reserved for the monarchy, who serves a more symbolic rather than leadership-based role. While these powers technically still belong to the Crown, they are exercised completely on the advice of the Prime Minister. For example, the Prime Minister can decide when to dissolve Parliament and when to call for general elections. It is even customary for the Prime Minister to recommend and ultimately choose the person who will serve as the governor-general—the Monarch’s representative in Canada.

The Cabinet

Assisting the Prime Minister in leading the government of Canada is the Cabinet, made up of Cabinet Ministers chosen by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the Governor-General. The Prime Minister and Cabinet meet regularly to discuss issues and make important decisions regarding the course of the country. These issues can include things such as government spending, and ideas for new bills, policies, programs and services. A key hallmark of the Cabinet is collective responsibility, meaning that all Ministers share responsibility for the administration of the Canadian government and for the policies that govern it. Every member must support a Cabinet decision publicly, even if they privately disagree with it. Non-support for a decision usually means the resignation of that Cabinet member.

Collective responsibility is not just reserved for the executive branch of government in this parliamentary system that stresses responsible government. By law, the government must have the support of the majority of Members in the House of Commons to stay in power. In the British tradition, if the government loses a vote on a major measure, or on any motion of non-confidence, its leaders are expected to resign or to ask the Governor General to call a general election.

There are currently thirty-seven Ministers in the Harper Cabinet, each leading a certain office, ministry or portfolio of the government. Some of these Cabinet leaders include:

Minister of Defense—responsible for coordinating military planning with allies. Friendly forces and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).

Minister of Public Safety—alerts the country of any imminent safety issues.

Minister of Finance—responsible for monitoring the Canadian economy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs—represents the government of Canada abroad and maintains the country’s embassies.

Minister of State—responsible for managing, assisting and maintaining the interior cabinet ministers and ministries.

Minister of Health and Social Services—coordinates the Canadian Health Services and maintains the national health care system.

Minister of Immigration and Citizenship—offers assistance to those looking to gain Canadian citizenship.

Minister of Heritage—responsible for collating Congressional Acts and Treaties.

Minister of Education—responsible for ensuring access to and quality in the Canadian school system.

Minister of Justice. Responsible for providing legal advice and for prosecuting criminals.

Attorney General—the official legal advisor for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

And many more…

Legislative Branch of Canadian Government

Collectively, the legislative branch of Canada’s government is known as Parliament. Within Parliament is a bicameral structure, meaning there are two houses or assemblies with legislative power. The appointed house is called the Senate, where members are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the Prime Minister. The elected body of legislative government is known as the House of Commons. Members of this house are chosen through democratic election procedures held every four to five years. Though in theory both branches of legislative government are roughly equal in the power they wield, the House of Commons is generally seen as the most powerful arm of the Canadian government and introduces more bills each year to the Parliament.

Canadian Senate

The Canadian Senate is tasked with studying, amending and either rejecting or approving bills which were passed by the House of Commons. The Senate can also introduce its own bills to Parliament, except any bill regarding government spending or the imposition of taxes must be introduced by the House of Commons. No Canadian bill can become law without the approval of the Senate. Senators are also responsible for studying major social, legal and economic issues through their work on committees. Another important duty of the Senate is to represent the interests of Canada’s regions, provinces, territories and minority groups. Seats in the Senate are distributed to give each major region of the country equal representation. The Constitution dictates that the Senate has 105 members. Senators must be at least 30 years of age to be appointed and cannot serve past the age of 75. Senators must also hold a minimum of $4,000 of property, and live in the area in which they are appointed to represent, a Canadian policy known as Regional Representation.

In recent years, The Senate has been seen by many Canadians as useless, unfair and undemocratic. Certain parties (especially the Reform Party) are demanding Senate reform and the installment of a Triple E Senate, meaning a Senate that would have elected representatives rather than appointed ones, Equal Representation (of the Provinces) and Effective Power, meaning that the Senate would be given the power to reject and quash legislation like in the United States. There have even been some calls to abolish the senate entirely, although those ideas are usually easily dismissed.

House of Commons

The House of Commons is the foremost law-making body in Parliament. In the House of Commons Chamber, the elected members devote most of their time to debating and voting on bills. The Chamber is also a place where members represent constituents' views, discuss issues of national importance and call on other offices of the government to explain their actions and/or justify their decisions. Members of the House of Commons are chosen by the public in federal elections, which are held every four to five years. In each of the country’s 308 constituencies, the candidate who gets the plurality of the votes is elected to the House of Commons, even of that plurality does not represent a majority (over half) of the total votes cast. Seats in the House of Commons are distributed approximately in proportion to the population of each province and territory. What this means, essentially, is that the more populated provinces and territories also have the most members of the House of Commons to represent them. Every province or territory must have at least as many members in the House of Commons as it has in the Senate.

There are three main functions of the House of Commons. The first is to debate and vote upon legislation and the second is to give the chance for the opposition to question what the government is doing with legislation, the way it conducts itself, etc. The third function is private member's business where Members of Parliament (MPs) may get up and make a speech in the House about an issue or event that he/she would like to draw attention to.

Judicial Branch of Canadian Government

The judicial branch of Canadian government is responsible for overseeing all cases of criminal law, as well as maintaining a Supreme Court—the highest court in the land, with members appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Matters of civil law are monitored using principles of British common law, except for in Quebec, where a French code of law is adhered to. The Supreme Court consists of nine jurists or justices and is used as a “court of final circumstance,” in cases where the lower courts cannot adequately come to a legal decision.

The Constitution Act of 1867 provides for the establishment and operation of Canada's professional judiciary. It gives the federal government exclusive lawmaking power over Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure (but not over the establishment of criminal courts), and it gave the provinces exclusive lawmaking power over the administration of justice in each province.

The national or federal government of Canada appoints the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Federal Court, and it also appoints some judges to provincial courts. The latter are sometimes referred to as “section 96 judges,” named after Act 96 of the Constitution which allowed the federal government to appoint them. These judges typically sit in their respective provincial Supreme Court or Court of Appeal or in equivalent courts such as the Court of the Queen’s Bench, the Superior Court (in Quebec) or the General Division of the Court of Justice (in Ontario).

The Supreme Court of Canada

As mentioned briefly above, the Supreme Court of Canada is comprised of nine judges, appointed for life by the Governor-General of Canada. It is seen as the highest court in Canada and the final court of appeal in all matters of law. Cases that make it to the Supreme Court of Canada are judged according to their constitutionality, meaning the main role of the nine justices is to review the law governing each case they hear and decide whether the law is provided for or goes against the language of the Constitution. This role is extremely important as it prevents the legislature from passing any laws that are not constitutional.

The Role of the Judicial Branch

The role of Canada’s judicial branch is to be fair and impartial, whether hearing a criminal case or civil lawsuit. The court's impartiality stems from the essential feature of the judicial system - independence of the judiciary. Although the judicial branch is rightly regarded as being equal to the executive and legislative branches of government, and although the appointment, removal and remuneration of judges are dependent upon the other branches, the quality of justice to which Canadians are accustomed can only be maintained if an independent judiciary is jealously guarded. The notion of judicial independence has been tested in many cases, in which provincial court judges, for example, have refused to rule on various cases, claiming they are not independent of the provincial government, which sets their salaries and working conditions.